The present invention relates to a device for detecting unintentional urination by users, such as children during the night. The invention also relates to moisture sensing pads for sensing moisture from a user, with such pads, for example, being disposed adjacent the groin or perianal area of a user for detecting moisture.
A number of urine sensing or anti-bed-wetting devices have heretofore been employed to train enuretic children to awake in time to empty their bladders and avoid bed-wetting.
A common early approach consisted of placing metallic grids under a bed sheet, the grids being separated by absorbent but non-conductive materials such as cotton cloth. In such devices a flow of urine into the absorbent materials completes a circuit between the grids and activates a bedside alarm after urination. In this case, the previously non-conducting dry cloth is made conductive by the urine. These devices suffered from the disadvantage of a moderate delay between the onset of urination and the sounding of an alarm. This is particularly disadvantageous because the most effective training is achieved by waking an individual immediately by an alarm upon the onset of urination and prior to the time that the individual's bladder become substantially empty. There is also the inconvenience necessitated by changes of bed linen during the night.
In the past several years, different devices have been proposed which are portable and which have an electrode containing pad disposed in the groin area of a user. A conductive path is provided between the electrodes upon urination and an alarm sounds. These devices do decrease the time between the onset of urination and the triggering of an alarm and also have the advantage of at least theoretically reducing the amount of urine flowing into the bed.
However, such prior devices have suffered from a number of disadvantages. For example, some devices have been less than completely acceptable to many children because of the bulkiness of the devices in the groin area. Also, some prior devices employ a long length of rather stiff uncomfortable electrical cord coupled from a urine sensing pad in the groin area to an alarm, such as on the wrist or shoulder of the user. Another disadvantage of some previous devices is the use of a relatively small urine sensor in the groin area of a user. Such sensors are subject to being missed by flow of urine from a user and are thereby subject to failing to trigger an alarm. Also, other prior devices have electronic components and connectors which are exposed to highly corrosive urine.
Prior devices have also not been suitable for use in monitoring multiple children at home, or with patients in a hospital or nursing home. The alarms on such prior devices have typically sounded locally in the user's room where it could not be heard during the night by parents or medical personnel.
In addition, for children under about two years of age or incontinent individuals, it can be desirable not to have a local alarm triggered upon moisture emission by such individuals. Local alarms can unduly excite or traumatize these individuals. Yet, it is desirable to monitor these individuals so that their undergarments can be changed promptly when wet. Heretofore, devices used for monitoring children in pretoilet training years (i.e. up to age 2-3) from remote locations are unknown.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved device for detecting unintentional urination and also for improved moisture sensing pads for sensing the emission of bodily moisture.